This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before

publication in the New York Reports.

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No. 62 

The People &c.,

 Respondent,

 v.

Tyrone D. Manor, 

 Appellant.

Kimberly F. Duguay, for appellant.

Robert J. Shoemaker, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM:

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Defendant challenges the judgment convicting him, upon his

plea of guilty, of murder in the second degree (Penal Law §

125.25 [1]) and sentencing him, pursuant to the plea agreement,

to 18 years to life in prison. 

We agree with the Appellate Division that County Court did

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not abuse its discretion by denying defendant's motion to

withdraw his guilty plea without holding a hearing. Defendant had

been provided with two alternative plea offers. The record shows

that at the plea allocution, the court explained the two plea

options and the rights that defendant was giving up by not going

to trial. Defendant indicated that he understood and had

discussed the guilty plea with his counsel. To the extent that

defendant's statements during the plea colloquy raised a question

regarding his intent to kill the victim, the trial court

fulfilled its "duty to inquire further to ensure [the] guilty

plea [was] knowing and voluntary" (People v Lopez, 71 NY2d 662,

666 [1998]).

In moving to withdraw defendant's guilty plea, defendant's

two attorneys submitted affirmations indicating that they were

surprised that defendant had decided to take the plea, that he

had not looked well on the date of the plea, and that he had been

pressured to take the plea by family members. The motion was

also supported by the report of a psychiatrist retained by

defendant who had conducted a psychiatric examination of him

approximately two months after the court had entered the guilty

plea. The psychiatrist repeated the allegations of family

pressure and further indicated that defendant's plea was impaired

by his use of alcohol and marijuana to control his anxiety before

arriving at the courthouse. The doctor did not indicate that

defendant was mentally ill or otherwise lacked the capacity to

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plead guilty. Notably, the motion to withdraw the plea was not

supported by an affidavit from defendant. At sentencing, the

court asked if either side wished to be heard beyond the papers,

and both the prosecutor and defense counsel stated that they had

nothing further. Defendant did not address the court. The court

found that there was no need for a factual hearing and stated

that it was satisfied that the plea entered was a knowing,

voluntary and intelligent waiver of defendant's rights to a

trial. The court therefore denied the motion. 

"When a defendant moves to withdraw a guilty plea, the

nature and extent of the fact-finding inquiry rest[s] largely in

the discretion of the Judge to whom the motion is made and a

hearing will be granted only in rare instances" (People v Brown,

14 NY3d 113, 116 [2010], quoting People v Tinsley, 35 NY2d 926,

927 [1974][internal quotation marks omitted]). As we said in

Tinsley, "[o]ften, a limited interrogation by the court will

suffice" (35 NY2d at 927). Here, the court gave the parties an

opportunity to argue in furtherance of the motion to withdraw the

plea, and because both parties declined, the motion was

appropriately decided on the written submissions. Furthermore,

while defense counsel claimed that defendant had been pressured

by his family to take the plea, this Court has "never recognized

'coercion' by family members as a reason for withdrawing a guilty

plea"(People v Lewis, 46 NY2d 825, 826 [1978]), and the record

here does not demonstrate that the court abused its discretion in

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denying the motion on that ground. Additionally, given

defendant's silence in any sworn statement regarding his alleged

use of drugs and alcohol and the court's ability to observe

defendant during the colloquy (see People v Alexander, 97 NY2d

482, 486 [2002]["t]he court was able firsthand to assess whether

defendant was alert and knowledgeable enough to plead guilty

voluntarily"]), it was not an abuse of discretion for the court

to have denied the motion to withdraw the plea without holding a

hearing.

 Finally, defendant did not meet his burden of 

demonstrating on this record that he was deprived of a fair plea

proceeding by less than meaningful representation (see generally

People v Flores, 84 NY2d 184, 187 [2000]). 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Order affirmed, in a memorandum. Chief Judge DiFiore and Judges

Pigott, Rivera, Abdus-Salaam, Stein and Garcia concur. Judge

Fahey took no part.

Decided May 3, 2016

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